WWOOF UK holds a list of organic farms, gardens and smallholdings that offer food and accommodation in exchange for practical help. ‘Organic’ is a loosely applied term, hosts do not have to be registered but should be able to demonstrate a commitment to environmentally-friendly practice, sound welfare standards and minimal chemical interventions. We try to fit this bill at Sheardrum.
There is a basic code of conduct set out for WWOOFing, no money changes hands and while hosts cannot expect everyone to have relevant knowledge and experience, volunteers should be willing to learn and be able to fit in with the hosts lifestyle. Work arrangements are negotiated around 6 hours a day and 5 days a week.
Volunteers from around the world can pay the membership fee and obtain the WWOOF UK host list. We have met volunteers from the UK, Europe and USA and their stays have varied from a couple of days to a few months.
So, having signed up we waited to see what interest was generated from a paragraph about Sheardrum on the WWOOF website www.wwoof.org.uk. Within a week we were receiving enquiries and we have been intermittently populating our lives with WWOOFers; in our 18 months experience we can say that a volunteer’s motivation to WWOOF may be based on a commitment to sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyles, an interest in organic farming and gardening, a desire to gain new experiences or to visit another country on a low budget, an opportunity to meet people and learn English, a break from city life, a global travel bug or a gap year between school and college.
Whatever their reasons, once a WWOOF volunteer has decided where they might like to go, hosts are mainly contacted by email and negotiations include the length of stay, type of work, accommodation, travel, general interests and dietary preferences.
We have met a really interesting bunch of people with a wide range of skills and interests, more jobs have been completed than we might otherwise have managed, we have made some new friends and had some really good fun.
However, the whole process of engaging and accommodating volunteers is quite a commitment and we have learnt some lessons along the way:-
- If volunteers are suggesting a long stay, it is worth having a trial week or two
- You need adequate insurance cover and careful consideration of health and safety issues before allocating jobs
- Providing accommodation and food is time-consuming, sometimes a pleasure and sometimes a pain
- Some volunteers need a lot of supervision
- Couples are more self-contained
- Some people have strange diets; self-catering accommodation would help.
- Transport can be an issue if you are remote
- Levels of skill vary from zero to high
- Skill levels are not the only quality measure
- Whatever the weather, volunteers on site need occupation
- Every WWOOFing experience is different
Overall, if you have the time and space and jobs that need doing, you could find that becoming a WWOOF host is well worthwhile. It costs £30 to join, hosts and volunteers receive a quarterly newsletter and the rest is up to hosts and volunteers. WWOOFers need looking after but they get stuff done and they also contribute their own experience and ideas from other places they have worked. We receive at least two enquiries each week and there is a surge for the summer holiday period.
The main thing is that WWOOFing has to work for you; just because volunteers are offering doesn’t mean you have to consider them.
We are about to have a WWOOF-free period and are looking forward to a break over the winter, but will start up again next year. If anyone would like to disucss WWOOFing, please contact us!
Clare and Ali November 2010
